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Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific Conference Program

The 2014 Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific conference provided an opportunity to assess the pace and direction of growth in the world's fastest growing cruise sector. The conference was led by a panel of regional and international industry experts covering essential topics and providing valuable insights into the burgeoning Asia cruise market. Please see the full 2014 conference programme below.

The State of the Cruise Industry in Asia The momentum for cruise tourism in Asia has taken a step change this year, with announcements from major cruise lines of significant increases in capacity. With a penetration rate of just 0.1%, many Asians have a low awareness of cruise tourism but a high receptivity towards it. In this session, some of the industry's leading voices will give their views on the scale and nature of Asia's potential and the challenges which growth on this scale will mean for the Asian countries.

The Operating Environment in Asia This session will study the challenges of cruise operations across Asia looking specifically at distances, port charges, pilotage, fuel, water and provisioning costs, berthing, visa and immigration procedures and shoreside logistics. What obstacles need to be lifted to ease operations in Asian waters, and can lessons be learnt from the more mature cruising destinations?

Focus on China China is the world's leading outbound market for tourism. Forecasts for China's growth in cruise tourism vary, but with one major line predicting it will be the world's second biggest source market for cruise passengers by 2017 there is no doubting the potential. The major cruise groups are responding to this expectation by announcing big increases in their capacity deployed for the China market. What is the likely future pattern of cruise tourism development in China and what kinds of products and itineraries will appeal most to Chinese consumers?

As a source market for cruise passengers, Asia is following the pattern of Europe in showing significant variations in performance from country to country across the region. So which are the best prospects for growth and which will be slower to respond? Can the remarkable level of cruise penetration in the Australian market be achieved in Asia? Will Asian cruisers seek national brands reflecting the tastes of their own country or will the trend be more towards pan-Asian products?

As the number of ship deployments grows, the need for new and improved terminals and cruise berthing heightens. Is investment in cruise infrastructure keeping up with demand and what will the next phase of expansion involve? Where are cruise infrastructure improvements needed most: now and in the future?

Bruce KRUMRINE Vice President, Shore Operations, Princess Cruises and John TERCEK VP, Commercial & New Business Development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, and Member of the CLIA Global Ports Committee will lead this one hour workshop on how ports and destinations should structure their terminal and infrastructure development. There will be time for audience participation.

Afternoon concurrent sessions 15:00 - 16:30

Itinerary Development Across the Region

As the scale of cruise ship deployment in Asia takes off, so also the pattern of itinerary development is starting to emerge. But the scale and diversity of Asia's geography mean that the range of options is considerable. So which ports will emerge as the key hubs for Asian cruise itineraries? With exciting destinations plentiful but the distances between them sometimes prohibitive, what will determine the port combinations of the itineraries of the future?

To date European shipyards and suppliers have secured the lion's share of cruise ship newbuilds. How long before Asian shipyards and suppliers play a significant role in building for the global cruise market? What opportunities are there for Asian shipyards in the refurbishment sector with more and larger tonnage sailing in Asian waters? If Asian source market potential grows as rapidly as predicted will cruise lines look to Asian yards and suppliers to fill demand?